Internal-combustion engine



June 24, 1930. A, MOORHQUSE 1,767,222 v INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Sept. 19, 1 924- 3 Sheets-Sheet I 1 ATTORNEYS Jane 24, 1930. A. MOORHOUSE 1,767,222

INTERNAL COMBL iSTION ENGINE FiledSeptxlQ, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z INV OR I ATTORNEYS A. MOO RHOUSE .INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE June 24, 1930. Y

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Filed Sept. 19, 1924 wl mm ow Patented June 24,1930

mime mooanowsnibr DETROIT; MIoHIGAmiAssIeNoR TornoKANn'ivro'ro-n can I ooMPA-NY, oninnrnoir, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION on MICHIGAN INTnRNAL-coNBUsTIoN ENGINE",

Application filed September 19', 1924. Serial No. 738,684

This invention relatesto internal combustion. engines, and particularly to means for continuously collecting, during the operationjof the engine, any lubricating oil and unburned fuel that tends to pass 'thelpiston rings, and for continuously separating'this oil and fuel, the oil being returned'lto the oil reservoir and the fuel being returned, in a' vaporized state, to the combustion spaces. l 7 1 Due to the low grades of fuels that are frequently used in internal co'mbustionen gines, incomplete combustion results "and this is particularly true when; the engine is cold. The unburned fuelpasses-downwardly around the pistons and piston rings into the" lubricant in the oil' supply reservoir, car] rying with it impurities suchaswater. The, resulting mixture of oil, fuel, and water is very ineflicient as, a lubricant and it-be-J comes necessary to frequentlyidrainthe oil reservoir and supply afresh quantity of lubricant.-

' tend to pass thepiston rings, but they have,

, Another difficulty that arises inthe operation of internal'combustion engines is due to the fact that the lubricating oil that is splashed up onto the pistons,,to lubricate the cylinder walls, passes upwardly by the piston rings and enters the combustionspaces where it isburned. This is particularly true when the pistons, rings, or cylinders become worn, and this results in a large amount of carbon being deposited in the combustion paces, with the well known objectionable results. v I Devices haveheretofore been-provided for V fr'eve'nting. dilution of a the lubricatingv oil, or preventing the passage of lubricating oil upwardly around the pistons into the combustion spaces, and. for continuous1y collecti'ngiand separating the oil and fuel that been objectionable and ineflicient' in opera:- ti'o'n due to the factthat theiheatingretor t employed has been'mounted as a unitwith the collectingor fioatlch'ambenwhich has resulted inlt'hei valve mechanism of said chamber being subjected. to the high heat of the retort which heat in time impairs the-operation Gen e valve mechanism. Furand in which,

ther, these devices occupy such a large amount of'space that-itis impossible to use the. engine in both, right or left: hand drive, chassis without rearranging. the parts; In

addition, due to their insecure mounting,

leaky joints and consequent faulty operation haveresulted- 'l All object, of the present invention is-nto, provide a dilution eliminator comprising-a heatingfor vaporizing retort and an independently mounted collecting or float I chains her that is positioned at such a distance from the retort that the valve mechanism oft/the 7 float chamber willbe shiel'ded'from' the heat I of the: retort. Another obj ect: of the invention'vis' to providela devicejof this character 7 that is so constructed" and; moun ted on the engin'ethat the-:ilatte'r may be installed in either a right or a left-hand drive chassis.

; Further objects of the invention. are to provide,- means for independently mounting the vaporizing retort-and the float chamber in such a mannerthat-these elementslwill not: become defective in operation. because of leaky joints; to provide a device that is readily. accessible for repair .or replacement,

andjone'whichwill permit access to the other parts, of the; engine; 'andjto provide means whereby the'volatilized-impurities in the lubricating oil,'such as water, fuel and the like,

areflretur'ned td-thelintake manifold to aug-.

ment'the explosive-mixture delivered by the carburetorw." a c l we Other objects and advantages of the; in-.

vention will appear from the following description takeninconne'ction with the drawings, which form a part oi this specification,

: Fig. 1; is a :side; elevationofan internal combustionrengine embodying. the present invention; "1 V p Figy2 lSE".. S(-l-Clll0llll end view' somewhat enlarged',j'on"liney252 of Fig; 3;

Fig.1; is a detailed sectional View on'theline 4'4 oi' Fig. 3. I

Referr'ng to the drawings, wherein like reference, numerals refer- :to like parts taken throughout the several views, and, particu- Fig.3 ,is'ia'top plan View, partly. in section, illustrating the present invention; and

larly to Fig. 1 which illustrates an eightcylinder internal combustion engine; 1 is a carbureter, 2 is a fuel supply reservoir, and 3 is a vacuum tank. These parts are of any well known and suitable construction. Mounted in the usualjmanner in the cylinders of the engine are pistons tprovided adjacent their upper portions with pistonrings 5, fitted in suitable grooves. A vertical groove 6, which extends downward ly from the lowest" piston ring groove a distance of approximately one-half the length of the piston, is formed in the outer surface of each piston in a tangent plane common to all of said pistons and, when viewed from the, rear of the engine, on the right hand side of the same. Forming a continuation of the side wall of each piston, and projecting downwardly from the lower end thereof directly below groove 6, is a narrow skirt or tongue 7. A small radial opening 8 (Fig. 2) is provided in each of the pistons in the plane of the lowest piston ring groove, and diametrically opposite groove 6, for a purpose to be described here'- after.

During a portion of the stroke of the pistons each of the grooves 6 is in communie cation with a radial passage or "opening 9 extending through the side walls of the cylinder block. The'outer ends of passages 9 lead into a longitudinally extending collecting pipe or manifold 16 thatis secured in any suitable manner to the side of the cylinder block inwardly of the valve stems 11. Access, may be had to manifold 10 by removing the valve cover plates 12.

Ext'ending upwardly through an enlarged portion 10, (Figs. 3 and 4) of manifold 10,

which enlargement is formed at any suitable point along the length of the latter, is a hollow bolt 13 provided with openings 14: inits side walls for establishing communication between collecting pipe 10 and a passage 15 formed in the cylinder block. Preferably, the upper end of bolt 13, which constitutes a short connecting duct or passage, is threaded into the lower side walls of pas- V sage 15, thus constituting a supporting mem-.

ber for pipe 10.

A pipe 16 is secured at its inner end to the cylinder block by a suitable connecting member 17 in a position to form a continua tion of passage 15, while the outer end of pipe 16 leads into the lower portion'o'f a heating retort or vaporizing chamber 18 that is provided interiorly' with any suitable type of baffling 18'. Preferably, retortIlS is cylindrical in shape and is mounted in a bypass portion 19 of the engine exhaust. manifold 20, said retort being secured in place by means of a T-coupling 21 that has threaded engagement with a reduced por- 'tion 22, projecting upwardly from, and secured to retort 18, and that bears against the upper surface of bypass portion 19 of exhaust manifold 20.

Leading from any desired point of the engine intake manifold 28, which manifold "tort to the'intake manifold of'the engine.-

This arrangement causes the distilled vapors which-condense on leaving the heat of the retort to flow on down to the engine intake instead of dropping back into the retort. Vacuum tank 3 is provided with a connection tointake manifold 23 by means of a pipe 25. that is connectedto the rear arm of T-coupling 21.

Positionedat a'suitable distance from retort 18, but preferably on the opposite side of the engine, is a float chamber 26 which, in the form shown is in communication with the retort through a conduit that may be formed in a plurality of sections. As illustrated, the first section of the conduit is formed of a pipe 27 in communication at its upper end with retort 18 and secured at its lower or inner end to the engine. crank case 28. The second section comprises a conduit 29 that is preferably formed integrally with and extends through crank case 28, while the third section comprises a pipe 30 that is secured at its inner end to the crank case, and which has its'outer portion curved to facilitate the making or breaking of its connection with the upper end of float chamber 26. The construction of the float controlled valve mechanism that'is employed in chamber 26 is of any suitable and well known type, and comprises a shut-off valve 31 for closing the connection between the chamber and pipe 30, an atmospheric valve 32 for venting the chamber, and the usual float 33 for controlling the operation of these valves. A check valve 34 of any desired type is provided in the lower end of chamber 26 in order that a partial vacuum may be maintained in the chamber until the latter is opened to atmospheric pressureb The engine bottom coveror oil'reservoir 35 is preferably formed with a laterally extending portion 36 which is provided with a circular opening in its upper surface 36. Through this opening extends the lower. portion of float chamber 26, which is provided with a circular collar 26" that rests on the upper surface v86" ofthe bottom cover projection 36, and which is secured in position at its lower end by means of'a .bolt 37 that extends upwardly through the bottom of projection 36 to engage float chamber 26. One or more openings 38 are provided in the lower portion of chamber 26 for establishing communication betweensaid chambera'nd oil reservoir 35', via theprojectin 1 portion 36. i The operationof the device is as follow The reciprocation. of pistons 4' creates a suction that establishes a partial vacuum in intake manifold 23, and this results in a partial vacuum being established in re'-' tort 18 through the connecting pipe 245; When the pistons move that grooves 6 therein, or'any one of them, are in register with openings 9 in the cylinder walls, the partial vacuum in retort 18' acts through pipe 16, passage and manifold 10 to withdraw from the lowest piston'ring groove and groove 6 any lubricating oil therein-that has been picked up by the pistons, or anyunburned fuel that tends to flow downwardly past the'fpistons,

and to collect the mixture inthevaporizing chamber 18. Openings 8 in the pistons are of. sufiicient size to. enable the force; of the partial vacuum to withdraw theliquid but sufiicient air is not-admitted through these openings to destroy; the vacuum. Asthe pistons move upwardly to. their extreme position of compression, or exhaust, the tongues. 7 maintain the vacuumby covering or closing the inner ends of passages of the exhaust gases passing 9. The heat out through exhaust manifold 20 and through by-passll heats the mixture in V the retort to such a'high temperature that the more volatile 'products,su'ch as gasoline,

Water, etc., are 7 vaporized and pass off through plpe 24 into the --1 ntake manifold 23, where they un te Wlllh and augment the explosive mixture, being delivered by carbureter 1- to the combustion spaces of the engine; Theless volatile and heavier lubricatin oil which is now purified and-which is prevented by thebaming 18 from being drawn into pipe 24, passes downwardly through connections 27, 29,.and 30 into float chamber 26, the partial vacuum in the latter being substantiallyequal to that in, retort 18 due to the check valve 34; being maintained by the'suction in closed position; "Wh(-)n the purified oil in chamber 26 collects to a predetermined level, float"33 operates to .close connection 30 and vent the chamber,

whereupon-the oil'passes through opening 38 into the oil reservoir from which it is again distributed throughout the enginef The vacuum necessary for drawing fuel from supply res'ervoirQ' into vacuum tank 3is secured through'the pipe connection 25, thus avoiding the necessity of tapping the carbureter or intake manifold at morethan one point.

The-present invention'prevents the dilution of the lubricating oil and thereby preserves its lubricating qualities. Carbon dejposits which are largely due tothe-bu'rning of lubricating oil and which result in improper valve'action together with high -ento such position bustion gine ftempera-tures; are prevented. Mil'eage is'incr'eased-by returning the vaporized fuel to the intake--manifoldto augment the normal explosive mixture. engine may. be employed, ing the" relative positions I of' any of the parts, in either a right-hand or] left-hand drive chassis. The various elements are so Moreover, the

Without chang mounted that vibration does not result in leaky joints and faulty operation; parts are accessiblefor inspection or replacement; and the float chamber valve mechanism'is not subjected to the intense heat oftheexhaust manifold. Y

While theinvention has been illustrated and described in combination with an eight cylinderengine, it, isfto be expressly understood that the invention issusceptible to'various mechanical expressions within the lime its 'ofsthe appended claims. For example,

ocated at any at such a- (113- the float chamber 26 may be 1 suitable point provided it is tance from retort 18 as to. be shielded from the heat of the exhaustgases of combustion. The vacuum pipe 24 may beled from the carbureter'instead of the intake manifold,

andtthe pipe connection between retort l8. and float chamber26 need not'be formed in sections. What'is claimed is 1. In combination with airinternalrombustion engine and} an exhaust manifold.

therefor, a vaporizingretortsecured to said manifold and surrounded by a portion ofthe latter, a suctionconnection for said retort,a float chamber positioned at a distance from. said retort,means connecting said retortto said chamber, and an oil reservoir incommunication with said chamber, said chamber partially mounted withinsaid ms 2. In combination with aninternal combustionengine and anfe'xh'aust manifold Y therefor, a vaporizing retort secured to said manifold, a suction connection for sa'idre tort, a" float chamber positioned on. the opposite side of the engine from said means conn'ectingsaid chamber and retort, and an oil reservoir having communication with said chamber.

retort, V

3. In combination withan internal combustion engine and an exhaust manifold I therefor, a vaporizing retort securedvto said manifold, a vacuum connection for said retort, a floatchamber positioned at a distance from said retort and means connecting said retort to said chamber comprising aconduit formed in a plurality of sections, one of said sections extending through the crank case of the engine. v V

5. In combination with an internal combustion engine having grooved pistons and an exhaust manifold, a retort secured to said manifold, a float chamber positioned on the opposite side of said engine, a vacuum connection for said retort, .a distributing duct secured to said engine and having communication with the grooves in said pistons during a' portion of the stroke of said pistons, means connecting said duct and retort and means connecting said retort and float chamber.

6. In combination with an internal com bustion engine having an exhaust manifold, a retort secured to said manifold, a suction connection for the retort, a float chamber, an )il reservoir having communication with said chamber, the latter being supported by said reservoir, and means connecting said retort and float chamber. I e

'7. In combination with an internal combustion engine having an exhaust manifold, a retort secured to said manifold and surrounded by a portion of the latter, a vacuum.

connection for said retort, a vacuum tank connected to said retort, a float chamber positioned at a distance from said retort, a connecting pipe leading from said retort to said float chamber and formed in sections, one of said sections extending through the crank case of the engine, an oil reservoir communicating with said float chamber, and means for I securing said chamber in said reservoir. V Y

8. A device of the class described comprising, .in combination with an internal combustion engine,a heating retort having baliles therein, an independent collecting chamber mounted directly on the oil reservoir of said engine, a pipe connection between said retort and chamber, a suction connection for the retort, means for connecting said retort to the grooves of said pistons, andan oil reservoir communicating with said chamber.

9. A device of the class described comprising, in combination with an internal combustion engine having grooved pistons, a heating retort secured to the exhaust manifold of said engine, an independent collecting chamber mounted directly on the oil reservoir of said engine,,a pipe connection formed of a plurality of sections between said retort and chamber, asuction connection for the retort, means for connecting said retort to the grooves of said pistons, and an oil reservoir communicating with said chamber.

10. A device of the class described comprising in combination with an internal combustion engine having grooved pistons, a vaporizing retort, an independent collecting chamber mounted at a lower level, a pipe connection including, a plurality ofsections between said retort and chamber, one of said sections being formed integrally with the crank case of the engine, a suction connection'for the retort, means for connecting said retort to the grooves ofsaid pistons, and an oil reservoir communicating with said chamber.

11. A device of the class described comprising in combination with an internal combustion engine having grooved pistons, a vaporizing retort, an independent collecting chamber mounted at a lower level, a pipe formed of a plurality of sections connecting said retort and chamber, one of said sections extending through; the crank case of the engine, a vacuum connection for the retort, means for connecting said retort to the grooves of said pistons, and an oil reservoir communicating with said chamber.

12. In combination with an internal combustion engine, a heating retort secured to the exhaust manifold of said engine and heated thereby, suction means for introducing the lubricant of the engineinto said retort and removing the volatilized diluents therefrom, a collecting chamber mounted at a distance from said retort, means for, conducting the purifledlubricant from said retort to said'chamber, and means for conducting the lubricant from the, collecting chamber back to, the engine lubricating system.

13. In combination with an internal combustion engine, a vaporizing retort for purifying the .used lubricant of the engine, suction means for introducing said lubricant into said retort, and for returning the vapors separated from the lubricant in the retort directly to the engine fuel supply, a collecting chamber mounted at a distance from said retort, means for conducting the purified lubricant from the retort to the chamber, and means for conducting the lubricant collected in said chamber to the engine oil reservoir.

14. In. combination with an internal combustion engine, an exhaust manifold having a bypass portion, a vaporizing retort secured to said manifold and encircled by said by-pass portion, a 'T-coupling for securing said retort to said manifold, means for conducting vapor from-said retortto the engine fuel supply, and means for returning the purified lubricant from said retort to the engine oil reservoir.

15. In combination With .an internal combustion engine, a vaporizing retort, suction means for introducing used lubricant into said retort, a collecting chamber having a circular collar for receivingpurified lubricant from said'-retort, 1an oil reservoir havsing a laterally extending portion proyided v of to sa'idmanifold adapted to beheated by i the exhaust 1 7 through said'manifold, baflies in said retort,

a: pipe for conducting the lubricant o f the tilled in the retort to the fuel intake of the engine, a collecting; chamberrpositioned on i I :5 a the opposite side of the engine 'from said exhaustmanifold, means :for a conducting withanopenlngin its upper surface, said chamber extending-"through said opening with said collar restingon the upper surface I 3 means for secur ng of said extension, and sand chamberto SEUClGXtGIlSlOIL.

' 16. A levice of the class described om-" prising, in combination with V an;internal combustion engine havingan exhaust manifold, a retort secured at the upper end thereg'ases offthe engine passing engine tosaid retort, a suction connection for the retort, said vconnection constituting a H means-for conducting volatile products dispurified lubricant, from; the, retort to the 7 l collecting chamber, connecting means be- 4 tween said chamber and theoilr eservoir ofl said collecting the engine, and means in" chamber for intermittently discharging purireservoir, v

fied lubricant from' the chamber intoithe I i 17. In a continuous process oil rectifying 7 system for lnternal combustion engines, in

" combination avacuum retort having an inlet charge chambersrmountedindependently of V and at a distance fromsaid retort and-cone- 'nected to saidoutlet,'said discharge cha n 3 7 providedQwith automatic valve mechanism which intermittently breaks-the her being for impure oil, an outlet for rectified oiland I a downwardly directed vacuum connectionl atfthe top thereof, and collecting and dis vacuum therein and connects the". chamber to the ngine Crank se to retu inthe'rectis 7 fied oil to the crankcase, said valve mecha tiff ' nism also closing at such time, the inlet-to the discharge chamber, to -Ypreserve the Vacuum in the retort; T 1 i jIn testimony whereofl havesigned I v n specification. j v j 1 W 7 L E MQ H USE i 

